EHarmony CEO: Key to Relationship Happiness Is 'Adaptability'

February 7, 2019

3mo ago

By Carlo Versano

EHarmony, the O.G. of online dating, built a reputation on its success rate for matching couples.

An innovator in its time and one of the first major players in the online dating space, eHarmony's notoriously long compatibility questionnaire aimed to help match users with other users based on interests, personal goals, and answers to questions like, "What makes you laugh the most?"

Now it says more than 80 percent of Americans in relationships are happy ー 20 percent higher than when the company last asked that question a year ago.

People were asked to rate their happiness for eHarmony's Happiness Index survey, and CEO Grant Langston told Cheddar in an interview on Thursday that the responses showed an interesting trend: having similar attitudes and principles around issues of social justice and politics correlated more to happiness than a partner's ability to earn money.

"The more that people are aware of what's going on in the culture ... the happier they are," Langston said.

Of course, income, education, and attraction remain important factors in finding a partner, as the survey showed, but now more people report that personal attributes like intellect, happiness, and a desire to be equal partners are as critical, if not more so.

"Just having a partner that's happy makes you happier and makes that person more desirable to you," Langston said.

According to Langston, the key to long-term relationship success is adaptability.

Those who are able to change and adapt with their partners or spouses "know what's worth fighting for and what's worth letting go."

That was before app and location-based online dating services came along and upended the industry. But along the way, the proliferation of apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr helped destigmatize the very concept eHarmony pioneered: that there's nothing wrong with using the internet to find love.

Those other services have "broadened the pool" of users, Langston said. Younger singles may wet their beaks on Tinder for a fling or a casual partner, but they come back later in life to eHarmony to find "meaningful relationships" ー or at least, that's the idea.